Christ is Risen!
Let us pray to the Lord;
Blessed are you, O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for your graciousness has provided a living hope for us in the resurrection or your Son. This morning, as daylight gathers us together to celebrate the paschal mysteries, we beseech you: Clear our minds and hearts of all that distracts us from you. Gird us for action and enable us to master ourselves. Teach our hearts how to believe in you with conviction and our lips how to praise you with sincerity. Then, on the last day, bring us to justification and salvation in the joy of our own resurrection.
For you are indeed our God, and we give you glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: now and forever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. (A prayer of Fr. Laurence)
During this Bright Week the curtain and the deacon’s doors all stand wide open all week long as we bask in the glow of another Paschal celebration.
Our physical, spiritual, and emotional hearts stand open to God’s everlasting life being poured out without measure on His world. We see the cup of our hearts filled till overflowing with mercy and love and life. And we know that the eternal life granted us by this loving God can only be hindered by our own will. We shut the door of our heart to God. He never stops pouring Himself out for me.
As we greet one another with “Christ is risen!” and we sense that wonderful and joyous exhaustion that comes from our spiritual labors during Holy Week, let us stay awake to even the slightest temptation to close the door of our heart to this amazing grace.
The Church has brought us to these saving days. Embrace them. Enter into them. Don’t let another Pascha pass and miss this wonderful opportunity to be close to Him Who is Life Himself. Because He is our Life, being connected to Him means we are alive as well. Being disconnected from Him, well, you know.
Especially in light of the Resurrection, being “dead” in our hearts is ALWAYS self-inflicted.
Today, rejoice in your words, your actions, and your attitude. Don’t just say “Christ is risen!” Live it.
